Junkee Media, the award-winning independent youth publisher, recently launched a refreshed vision for its Punkee masthead, marking a pivotal moment in its evolution. Following the highly anticipated reimagining of the Junkee brand earlier in the year, Punkee’s revamp, spearheaded by Editor Katie Stow and a talented team of creators, introduces a bold new website, verticals, ethos, and brand identity.
This revitalisation aims to captivate the youth audience with fresh, engaging content that resonates deeply with Gen Z.
B&T sat down with Alice Griffin, the editor-in-chief of Junkee Media, to discuss the motivation behind Punkee’s transformation and how it reflects the changing needs of the young, digitally-savvy audience of 2024.
What Motivated the Relaunch of Punkee?
Punkee’s relaunch has been in the works for some time, according to Griffin, who notes that the evolution of the brand was necessary to better serve its audience. “Punkee’s part two has been loading for a while,” she said, highlighting the growing demand for content that allows young people to explore their curiosities in a space where they can feel free to express themselves.
“Throughout the year, we’ve been quietly evolving our vision for Punkee, creating a much-needed breath of fresh air on the internet. Our Gen Z audience craved a space where they could shake off societal expectations, explore their curiosities, and have fun.
The team’s collective goal was to provide content that speaks directly to the experiences, passions, and challenges of their young readers.
A Fresh New Approach to Content
Punkee’s new direction boasts a “social-first” strategy, which means the platform focuses on creating content that resonates with its audience across various social media channels, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. This approach has led to impressive results in 2024, with Punkee’s audience reach growing by an extraordinary 114%.
A standout feature of the new Punkee experience is its reimagined website, which functions as a content hub. This includes popular video formats, creator perspectives, interviews, and written content, all in one place. The platform’s aesthetic has also undergone a radical overhaul, with a vibrant new colour palette, fresh fonts, and a striking new logo, reflecting the evolving identity of the brand.
“Evolving the editorial on Punkee was a natural next step in aligning super closely with the values and passions of our team and our audience. As we did, it felt really important to formally reintroduce ourselves and talk through our new headspace. It also gave us creatives (my team have strong feelings about colourways in the same way that other people have about, say, taxes) the opportunity to say goodbye to our much-loved website. Enter: an exciting content hub that better reflects how our young audience consumes content across our ecosystem,” said Griffin.
New Verticals That Speak to the Audience
Punkee has launched three dynamic new verticals that tap into the topics that matter most to its audience: Sex, Self Care, and Sugar on Top.
- Sex: This vertical dives into candid discussions around intimacy, relationships, and the sexual revolution, offering content ranging from interviews with porn stars to exploring evolving relationship dynamics.
- Self Care: Focused on the importance of personal wellness, this vertical covers topics like bedroom decor, beauty routines, journaling, and finding personal style—essentially everything that contributes to feeling good, inside and out.
- Sugar on Top: This entertainment section is dedicated to pop culture, diving into viral moments, comfort TV, celebrity crushes, and indulging in the kind of drama that’s fun to watch but doesn’t affect your life.
These verticals aim to create a space where Punkee’s audience feels both seen and empowered, offering a mix of educational, entertaining, and relatable content.
“These days, we meet young people where they’re at — holding conversations with them where they legitimately want to be and on the topics they care deeply about. We’ve found voices who speak authentically on the diverse passions of our audiences across both Punkee and Junkee — everything from messy girl makeup routines to the horrors of parliament during sitting week, and so, so much more. It’s been really cool to have doubled our audience reach this year, with our Junkee and Punkee pals coming to us for everything from journaling and t checks (Punkee’s self-care vertical is my new favourite place on the internet) to viral interviews with the kings of YouTube Dan and Phil and essential climate crisis reporting,” said Griffin.
The Role of Junkee and Punkee in 2024
Reflecting on Junkee Media’s evolution since its inception in 2000, Griffin said: “Junkee Media’s purpose has always been to make young people feel seen and connected on the deepest levels and this continues to be the reason why we’re here today”.
However, the way they engage with their audience has drastically changed as technology, social media, and content consumption have evolved. The transition from traditional media to the dynamic, social-first content models that Junkee and Punkee now embrace reflects the deepening connection between the brand and its audience.
“How the original team showed up for young people in 2000 compared to how we show up for our community in 2024 has changed in pretty much every way you could think of — from the topics we cover to the ways in which our stories come to life,” said Griffin.
“We’ve grown up on the internet, and so has our audience. This kind of mutual understanding and levelling of the playing field has allowed this evolution of Junkee Media to flourish, letting us focus on delivering original, perspective-led takes on our diverse slate of passion points to our audience”.
The relaunch of Junkee earlier this year served as a precursor to the Punkee revamp, with both platforms now prioritizing perspective-led content that speaks directly to Gen Z’s passions. Junkee is described as a platform “by fans, for fans,” offering insights into music, pop culture, and social justice, while Punkee’s new direction aims to be the mental escape young people need in a chaotic world.
Connecting with Gen Z: Listening, Engaging, and Relating
A key to Junkee Media’s success is its approach to engaging with Gen Z. Griffin points to the importance of dialogue rather than one-way communication.
“We’ve hired a team of young, chronically online and agile people who engage in genuine conversations with our audience via the comment sections, audience surveys, group chats and more. This means that we can relate to, represent, and create the content our audience wants to see, as soon as they want to see it. It also means that shoes in the office are largely regarded as optional; I get alerted by our alarm system (more weekends than not) that someone has popped in to decorate a new corner of Junkee Media HQ; and I’m often reminded that we are “led by the passion points of our team” to qualify a new format being launched when I’m on leave,” said Griffin.
Understanding that young people prefer authentic engagement, Griffin and her team focus on building trust and loyalty with both their audience and brand partners. This approach has led to innovative commercial strategies, where brands integrate seamlessly into the editorial content that young readers already love, ensuring that advertising doesn’t disrupt the user experience.
“We know that our audience (like us) would rather build trust and loyalty with a select group of value-aligned brands rather than having their favourite content crowded or overwhelmed by advertising. This understanding has underpinned our commercial growth in 2024 and our intention to continue to establish long-term partnerships. It has led us to pull the plug on traditional website display in favour of more space for the content our young audience loves. Instead, we’re oering brands innovative, creative, and (I must say) delightful integration into our verticals they simply can’t nd anywhere else. It also informed our decision to authentically endorse branded products and messaging through integration into the same editorially excellent formats that our audience already knows and loves across our channels”.
Punkee’s relaunch is a bold statement of Junkee Media’s commitment to offering content that is not only entertaining but also empowering, authentic, and deeply connected to the experiences of its audience. With its new design, exciting verticals, and fresh approach to social media, Punkee is poised to remain a key player in the media landscape for Gen Z.
As we head into 2025, it’s clear that Junkee and Punkee are continuing to grow, evolve, and redefine what it means to connect with young people in an ever-changing digital world.
